The Muggleborn Chronicles: Stone Cold
by TheTragedyIs13
Summary: It's year 2 and Alexa Lott is excited to go back to Hogwarts. But now students are being Petrified and everyone suspects Harry Potter is Slytherin's heir. With the fear of being next consuming her, Alexa starts to wonder if being at Hogwarts is a good idea after all. Set in Harry's year: 1991-1998. Fic two in The Muggleborn Chronicles.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hello everyone and welcome back! As you can see, I am continuing on with Alexa's story and I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer that I don't own anything but Alexa, Jo, Liam, her parents, yada, yada, yada...

* * *

Alexa Lott sat beside the telephone, debating with herself on whether or not she should just go ahead and call her best friend. But the silence she had received after every other attempt to talk to Jo had failed.

What was the point?

Alexa sat for a moment longer then shot to her feet.

Stepping outside, she made straight for Jo's house.

She stood at the end of the street, the sweltering summer sun at her back as she looked towards Jo's house.

She hadn't seen Jo since last summer, hadn't spoken to her since the Christmas holidays. Jo had refused to speak to Alexa whenever she called and had ignored her letters. This was going to be Alexa's last ditch effort to salvage their friendship and she was dreading what might happen when she knocked on the door.

Taking a deep breath, Alexa started forward, her heart hammering in her chest.

She understood Jo's anger at her, truly she did. Alexa had blatantly refused to speak about Hogwarts, never even mentioned her teachers by name. She never spoke about the subjects taught, never said if she had made any friends. Her letters were short and to the point, never talking about much of anything. Of course her best friend would be angry at her when Jo described everything down to the tiniest of details.

Alexa strode up to the front door, braced herself, then knocked quickly on the dark blue door.

She stood back and waited with bated breath until – to her immense relief- the door swung open.

Mrs. Davis stared down at Alexa in obvious surprise.

"Alexa," she cried, stepping aside to let her in, "I wasn't expecting to see you today. Does Jo know you're coming?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Alexa lied quickly.

She took in her familiar surroundings, of the television tuned in to Mrs. Davis's favorite midday talk show, the faded blue sofa and chair. The fireplace was empty, its mantel laden with photographs of Jo as she steadily grew up.

"Well, go on up, then," Mrs. Davis said, smiling warmly. "She's up in her room just now, watching a Disney movie."

Alexa frowned slightly, confused. Since when did Jo watch Disney movies? She had always teased the girls at school for watching them and laughed every time she saw someone sporting some item from the films.

But she mounted the stairs and hesitated outside of Jo's door.

From within, she could hear a song with Jo singing along at a moderately good pace.

Alexa knocked and heard Jo call, "Come in."

Turning the knob, Alexa peered inside and saw the movie reflected in the mirror from Jo's vanity.

"What is it, Mum?" Jo asked and, in the mirror, Alexa saw that Jo hadn't bothered to look.

"It's not your mum."

Jo shot up in her bed, startled.

"Alexa?" she exclaimed, leaping out of her bed. She reached out for the remote and paused the film. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Well, you wouldn't answer any of my calls or my letters, so I thought I'd just…drop by." Alexa rocked back on her heels, feeling awkward.

"Clearly my message wasn't obvious enough for you," Jo said angrily. "You thought I wasn't good enough to stay in touch with while you were away at your school, so I'm giving in to your wishes. I'm done being your friend."

Alexa fought the urge to roll her eyes. Jo always jumped to the worst conclusion first.

"Jo, listen, if you could come over for dinner tonight, I can explain," Alexa said quickly, but Jo shook her head fervently.

"No, Alexa. I'm not going anywhere with you." She stood tall with her hands on her hips, a look of resolution on her face.

Jo had grown several inches since Alexa had last seen her and her brown hair was nearing her elbows. She had even started to develop the curves that seemed to be avoiding Alexa like the plague.

"Honest, Jo, if you come over, I can tell you all about my first year at my new school," Alexa pressed. "And besides, Mum and Dad would love to see you. And so would Foxes. He and Morgana don't get along very well, so she stays up in my room most of the time."

Jo's brows knitted together and Alexa knew she had gotten Jo's interest.

"Morgana?"

Alexa nodded, taking a cautious step forward. "My cat. I got her before I went off to school. We're allowed to have them, you see. But if you come for dinner, I can tell you more."

Jo seemed to be debating with herself then, finally, she sighed. "Alright," she conceded and Alexa grinned widely. "I'll come. Just…let me finish watching this first."

"Yes, what are you watching?" Alexa wanted to know as Jo resumed the movie.

" _The Little Mermaid_ ," Jo answered. "A girl at school got me to watch a few of them. She's obsessed," she added with a roll of her eyes, "and, actually, they're pretty good. A bit childish, but still good."

"What's it about?" Alexa asked as she sat on the edge of Jo's bed.

"This mermaid wants to be with a human and so she goes to this evil sea witch and gives up her voice to be a human," Jo explained. "The prince – the human she fell in love with – found her on the beach and thinks she washed up from some wreck and he's taken her in. Right now, they're spending the day out on the village. She has to get the prince to kiss her, otherwise, she'll turn back into a mermaid and never see the prince again."

"How many times have you watched this?" Alexa wondered as another song started to play and Jo began humming along with it.

"More than I would like to admit," Jo replied, turning pink with embarrassment.

Once the movie had ended and Alexa and Jo were on their way to Alexa's, Jo said, "So why is it that I have to be at your house for you to tell me about your school? Couldn't you have told me at home?"

"Because it's easier for me to show you," Alexa replied vaguely. "And like I said, Mum and Dad would love to see you."

Alexa entered first and called out to her parents just as Foxes came running.

Stooping low, Alexa rubbed his offered belly then made her way into the sitting room where her parents sat.

"Would you like tea, Jo?" Mrs. Lott asked as she got to her feet to greet her.

"Oh, no thank you," Jo said politely. "Alexa, here, just told me that she'll be telling me about her school."

Mrs. Lott glanced at Alexa then looked back at Jo, smiling.

"Yes, I'm sure it'll be great fun." She looked pointedly at Alexa, who nodded. "Well, let me know if you need anything."

Alexa took Jo by the hand and dragged her up the stairs while Foxes, who stayed below, yipped cheerfully at their retreating backs.

"You lot are up to something," Jo said distrustfully as Alexa opened the door to her room and let Jo in.

"We are," Alexa agreed as she followed Jo in and shut the door behind her.

Morgana lay curled up, fast asleep, in the middle of Alexa's bed, but at their entrance, she opened her eyes and stood up. Stretching, she meowed then made her way over to Jo, who stood staring up at the Slytherin flag hanging above Alexa's bed.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing at the green and silver flag. "It's got a snake on it."

"Mmm-hmm," Alexa said, sitting on her bed. Morgana immediately made her way over to Alexa, who began petting her absently.

"So you've got houses, then?"

"Yes."

Jo began to look around the room, her eyes drawn immediately to Alexa's desk at the window which was covered in her school books.

Reaching out a hand, Jo picked up the top book, _A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration_ , and flipped it open.

"What on earth is this?" Jo asked as she paused to read one of the pages. "There's a picture in here of a mouse being turned into a snuffbox!"

She looked up at Alexa with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"What is this?" she asked again, slamming the book shut and dropping back onto the desk as if it had scalded her. "Are you playing tricks on me?"

Alexa got to her feet, shaking her head. "No, no! I promise I'm not. I can't – I can't say it outright, Jo. You've got to guess."

"Guess what?" Jo asked, exasperated. "That you're a lousy friend who can barely write five lines to me? That you would rather drag me here and make me guess what you've been up to since last summer? Well, I won't do it, Alexa. This is ridiculous. I'm going home."

Jo started for the door, but Alexa reached out and snagged her arm, holding her in place.

"No, Jo, don't leave," Alexa begged. "I can't tell you – you have to guess. It's forbidden for me to say anything. I can't even show you properly what I'm talking about."

Jo wrenched her arm free and glared mutinously at Alexa, who tried to keep her expression innocent.

"Keep looking at the books," Alexa insisted. "Read some of them. Go through my trunk, too. There's more in there."

Jo eyed her suspiciously but moved back towards the desk and grabbed the next book, _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_.

"There's stuff in here about spells," Jo said slowly, her brow knitted together as she made her way slowly through the book. She closed it, set it aside, and grabbed the next one. "And what are these? These aren't real! Hinkypunks? Redcaps?" She looked up, confused. "What is a kelpie?"

Alexa nearly laughed. "Read it and find out."

 _"'_ _This British and Irish water demon can take various shapes, though it most often appears as a horse with bulrushes for a mane,'"_ Jo read and she looked up in amazement at Alexa, who was grinning now. "But this stuff isn't real, Alexa. These things don't exist."

"Did you know that there are twelve uses for dragon blood?" Alexa said casually, hopping back onto her bed, swinging her legs back and forth. She was amused at the dumbfounded expression on her friends' face. "I don't know what they are yet as I haven't learned about it, but I can't wait. Ooh, and in that book, they talk about all the different kinds of dragons. There's the Welsh Green and Herbidean Black, both of which are native to England. There's the Peruvian Vipertooth and the Ukrainian Ironbelly. There're loads more, of course, but those are the ones that I can remember right now."

"You're mad," Jo breathed, closing the book and letting it drop to the floor with a dull thunk. "And your parents let you carry on like this? They actually let you think that you're a – a – "

But she couldn't seem to say it.

Alexa beckoned her on with a nod.

"Go on," she urged eagerly. "What do you think I am?"

"Mental," Jo said weakly and Alexa laughed aloud.

"Perhaps," she agreed with a nonchalant shrug, though Jo's refusal to believe in the impossible stung a little when all the evidence before her pointed to it existing. "I mean, I spent the last year learning all about these sorts of creatures that I thought weren't real. I learned how to make a pineapple tap dance, how to brew potions – which I'm quite good at – and that my History of Magic professor can make anything exciting sound dull because he's a ghost who has no idea how to _not_ speak in a monotone."

Jo was shaking her head, backing up towards the door.

"You've gone mental," she kept saying. "You are completely mad."

With a sigh, Alexa got off her bed and made her way over to her trunk.

Opening it, she rummaged through, pulling out her robes, quills and ink, parchment and, finally, her wand.

Jo eyed it curiously as Alexa straightened.

"It's made of ebony with a phoenix feather for its core," Alexa explained and she held it out. "It's pretty good with charms, or so Mr. Ollivander, the wand-maker, told me when he gave it to me last year."

"Is that a… _wand_?" Jo reached out and let her fingers just barely brush over it.

"Yes," Alexa said proudly. "It's loads of fun and I get to spend nine months with kids just like me."

"You did mention once that you said you made the books in your room move by themselves," Jo said weakly as Alexa began replacing everything neatly in her trunk. "What's the school called, then?"

After closing the trunk and putting _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ back on her desk, Alexa turned to Jo, her expression serious.

"If I tell you any more, Jo, you have to swear to me that you'll not say a word," Alexa warned. "No one can know about it. Muggles aren't meant to know at all about our world and if the Ministry found out that I'd told you, well, I don't like to think what they might do."

Jo looked nonplussed, but then she nodded.

"I swear on my mum and dad's life that I won't tell a soul, not even them."

Satisfied, Alexa said, "I go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry every year on September first. I go from King's Cross, step through a barrier to platform nine and three-quarters, and get on the Hogwarts Express. I cross the country to get to Hogwarts and learn all that I can. Though I will freely admit that I don't care very much for Herbology, but the rest is pretty fun."

"This is mad," Jo said as she dropped into the desk chair. "There's a whole world right next to ours, where magic actually exists! Why can't you show me?"

"The Statute of Secrecy forbids me from showing you," Alexa answered quickly. "They send out a letter at the end of term reminding us that we can't do magic outside of Hogwarts or anywhere where magic isn't allowed. I suppose that, on the train or in Diagon Alley, I could do magic. But here? I can't. Not until I'm seventeen, at least."

"Weird," Jo said after a moment, frowning slightly. "I used to always believe in magic when I was little."

"Everyone did," Alexa said. "No one likes to believe that the world is as mundane as it appears."

But Jo was shaking her head. "No, you don't understand. When I was six, I swore I saw this lady flying around on a broom on Halloween, but when I went to show it to my mum, the lady had disappeared. Mum thought I must've seen some kind of decoration, but the lady was flying right over the houses! I put it to me having a wild imagination, but now" – she looked up and beamed at Alexa – "now I know that I was right in what I saw. I mean, they do have flying brooms, right?"

Alexa laughed. "Yes. And they've even got a sport called Quidditch where everyone flies around on brooms. There's hardly enough time to explain the rules of Quidditch today, but at least now I can tell you all about school from now on."

"No more secrets?" Jo asked, getting to her feet. She held out her pinky and, without hesitation, Alexa wound her own around it.

"No more secrets," she promised.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and I hope that I can have more up soon! Currently, still novel-writing, but I'll work on this as often as I can. And "Stone Cold" is a temporary name and it might stay or it might change. I haven't decided yet. As always, please review! I read them all! And have a wonderful day and, if I don't post before Thursday, have a happy new year! May 2016 be kind to us all.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I'm probably jinxing myself on posting so soon after the first chapter was put up, but oh well. I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Disclaimer, as usual, that I don't own anything except my own characters...

* * *

"Sue is great," Alexa said to Jo as Mrs. Lott cleared up the dinner plates. "She and I got really close. We're sort of the outcasts in our house, which is fine with us. Most of the other kids can be pretty mean, but we hold our own."

"So the houses," Jo pressed, leaning eagerly across the table, nearly knocking over her cup of tea in her excitement, "what's the differences?"

"Well, first, there's Gryffindor," Alexa began. "That's a house full of the biggest arrogant kids you'll ever meet. I swear, they think they're God's gift to this world, or something. They're known for being brave and chivalrous. There's Hufflepuff next. Most people think they're duffers, but Hannah's from Hufflepuff and she's pretty nice. They're supposed to be loyal and pacifists. Then there's Ravenclaw, full of the smart kids. Sue and I overheard them at the end of the year just before exams talking about how they felt so insulted that the quills had been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell. They said that they would never cheat, but that had no doubt that us Slytherins would."

"Well that was rude," Jo observed and Alexa nodded.

"I think Sue was nearly a Ravenclaw, but the Hat sorted her into Slytherin instead," Alexa said, frowning slightly. She had never really thought of what house Sue might have otherwise been put in aside from Slytherin.

"And Slytherin?" Jo prompted, bringing Alexa back to their conversation.

"Oh, right." She sat a little straighter, smiling a little. "Slytherins are known for being evil and selfish and all that nonsense. I mean, don't get me wrong – we are like that. But we're also incredibly loyal, too. But, yes, we will do whatever it takes to get what we want, no matter who it hurts."

"And that's your house?" Jo asked and Alexa nodded, feeling suddenly nervous. "Huh. Well, I could have told you that you were pretty selfish, but I doubt you would've listened to me."

Alexa was surprised. She had thought that Jo was going to hate her like everyone else at Hogwarts did, but she just brushed it off like it was no big deal. Suddenly, Alexa did not feel that bad about being a Slytherin than she had ten minutes ago.

* * *

A weight had been lifted off her shoulders after she had told Jo all about Hogwarts. She knew that, now, she could write to Jo and not leave anything out.

She wrote to Sue the following afternoon, explaining that Jo had figured it out. Alexa knew that if Sue found out that Alexa had told her, Alexa might be in a lot of trouble. She wasn't keen on getting expelled from school because she had broken the Statute of Secrecy before she had even started her second year.

July slipped imperceptibly into August and, in the second week, she had received her Hogwarts letter.

Sitting up in her room with Morgana kneading her bedspread, purring loudly, Alexa ripped open the thick envelope and withdrew the parchment within.

She skimmed the first paragraph telling her to board the Hogwarts Express on September first and dropped immediately to the books she would need.

"' _Standard Book of Spells, Grade Two_ ,'" she read quietly to herself. "' _Break With a Banshee_ , _Gadding with Ghouls_ , _Holidays with Hags_ '…. Good Lord, they're all by the same bloke."

The name looked odd and unfamiliar. Alexa chalked it up to being a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who must have been a massive fan of whoever Gilderoy Lockhart was.

It still seemed surreal to Alexa that she had spent an entire year with a man who had, in the end, been trying to do Harry Potter in. He had seemed so unassuming, so timid, that Alexa would never have believed it at all had it not been that Quirrell had died from whatever had happened on the third floor.

She had remembered hearing other students claim that the position was cursed, that no teacher had ever been the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for longer than a year, but she had thought they had been exaggerating. Surely there were some teachers who had made it longer than a year. Maybe their new teacher would, she thought as she stuffed the list of school books back into the envelope.

Morgana seized her opportunity and climbed into Alexa's lap and curled up into a ball.

Alexa stroked Morgana absentmindedly and stared blankly out of her bedroom window at the neighbor's house behind hers.

They were an old couple with grown children who only visited on holidays. Sometimes they would look after Alexa when her mother was needed at work and her father would be working late.

She didn't mind it and often enjoyed being over there. They had several dogs, three cats, and two parakeets.

As she was looking at their house, the back door opened and three of the four dogs bolted out into the sun. They chased one another happily around the fenced-in yard, barking and yipping madly.

Alexa smiled a little to herself then sat back on her pillows, her eyes now on the ceiling.

What would Hogwarts be like this year, Alexa wondered as she continued to stroke Morgana, whose purring had intensified.

A light rustle at the window had Alexa sitting back up, startled, only to find a barn owl with a letter tied to its leg watching her with wide eyes.

Pushing Morgana gently off, Alexa got to her feet and crossed to the open window to the owl, who stood still as she untied the letter.

It hooted softly when she removed the letter and hopped inside, looking expectantly at her.

"Er, what do you want?" she asked it, knowing it was useless to do so.

It simply blinked and twisted its head around to look at the barking dogs.

Shaking her head, Alexa opened the letter and was surprised to see a letter from Liam.

"Ah, you must be Liam's family owl," Alexa said to the owl, who hooted in response. "Well, if you're waiting for an answer, it'll be a while."

The owl simply made itself comfortable as it perched atop the pile of school books.

Resisting the urge to laugh, Alexa opened the letter and read it.

 _Alexa,_

 _I know I'm the least likely person you expected to write this summer, but seeing as we got our Hogwarts letters, I was wondering when you were going to Diagon Alley. If you tell Sue, I was thinking we could all meet there. I'm going next Wednesday. Hope to see you there._

 _Liam_

 _P.S. Send your answer back with Rufus. He'll wait until you do._

Alexa looked up at the owl called Rufus and giggled. It didn't look like a Rufus at all.

All the same, she scribbled a quick response telling him that she would have to wait until her parents got home from work before she could tell him yes or no and sent Rufus on his way.

She stood at the window until Rufus disappeared and turned to go downstairs.

It was already nearly five in the evening and her mother and father would both want tea when they got home.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with frequent updates. Please review if you could, because that would be lovely. Until next time.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** To be perfectly honest, I'm not even entirely sure if anyone's reading these anymore, but I have some time to write as I'm currently trying to get an agent for my novel and all that jazz. So while I wait, this is what I'm doing. If you're still reading/waiting, here you go. I'll try (but I make absolutely no promises) to be consistent in the updates. Enjoy.

* * *

"I think we'll need more money before we do shopping," Alexa said to her parents as she tapped her wand on the brick wall behind the Leaky Cauldron.

"I can't possibly see why," Mrs. Lott said as she pulled up beside Alexa while Mr. Lott hung back. Alexa knew he was too busy looking around Diagon Alley, for he was incredibly fascinated by the world that sat alongside his own.

Alexa sighed as she mounted the stairs to the wizard bank.

"I'd rather be certain we have enough, Mum," Alexa explained as they approached the doors.

Opening the doors, Alexa held open the door for her parents before she slipped inside the cool interior, pleased to discover that the bank hadn't lost its novelty of being run by goblins.

It took only a few minutes to exchange their Muggle money for Wizarding money and they were stepping back out into the sunshine. The day was promising to be another scorcher and Alexa was suddenly wishing that she had worn shorts rather than her denim pants.

No sooner had Alexa and her parents stepped out of the apothecary nearly twenty minutes later than Sue practically tackled her.

She had grown a few inches and cut off her long, black hair and had a fringe that her long eyelashes grazed every time she blinked. She was wearing a black skirt and a emerald green shirt and a glittering watch rested on her left wrist.

"Goodness, it seems like it's longer than two and a half months," Sue said happily as she released Alexa. She turned to Alexa's parents and smiled politely.

"Mum, Dad," Alexa said, "this is Sue Li."

Mrs. Lott extended her hand, which Sue took.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you," Mrs. Lott said earnestly. "Alexa's told us about you."

"Good things, I hope," Sue said as she took Mr. Lott's hand.

"What else would I tell them?" Alexa teased.

"Mum and Dad went into Madam Malkin's for a moment," Sue explained when it became obvious that Alexa was looking for them. "Mum and Dad needed new dress robes. There's a wedding next week that they're going to. It's someone in Dad's office," she added in an afterthought. "Never met the guy, but Dad thinks highly of him. He's young, I think, and recently transferred."

Alexa was still back on "dress robes" when Mrs. Lott reminded Alexa that they needed to finish their shopping.

"What have you got left?" Sue asked as Alexa pulled out her list.

"Well, I've got to stop in a Flourish and Blotts, obviously," Alexa said, "and I also need more parchment and ink before we leave."

"I haven't gotten my books yet, either," Sue said as they started for the book store. "It's a good thing I told Mum and Dad to meet me there."

Alexa grinned and the two led the way into the crowded bookstore.

"It's really crowded," Alexa said as she squeezed in to the queue behind a middle-aged witch with red hair. Her arms were laden with books and a short girl with the same shade of hair stood beside her.

"I do hope he didn't go too far," Alexa heard the woman say worriedly. "How would it be if we had to tell his aunt and uncle that we lost him in a fireplace?"

Alexa stared with wide eyes at the back of the woman's head, more confused than ever.

Turning to Sue, she asked, "What does she mean, getting lost in a fireplace."

"Someone probably said the wrong thing," Sue explained as she stood on tiptoe, craning her neck for a better look. "Oh, look! It's Gilderoy Lockhart himself! Goodness, he's handsome!"

Curious, the idea of getting lost in a fireplace momentarily forgotten, Alexa peered curiously around the middle-aged witch for a better look and saw that, indeed, the man named Gilderoy Lockhart was very attractive.

He had thick, blonde, wavy hair, blue eyes, and, even though he was sitting, Alexa could tell that he stood much taller than the gathered witches and students. He wore blue robes and the hat he wore sat on his head at an angle while he signed copies of his books. All around him were photographs of himself and, just like the paintings at Hogwarts, they were moving.

"Are those – _those pictures are moving!_ " Mrs. Lott exclaimed.

Alexa nearly clapped a hand to her mother's mouth to silence her.

Who knew who was around? If anyone had heard her mother, Alexa would immediately deny that she knew her, that the woman must be the mother of some other Muggleborn.

"Good Lord, this world is so fascinating," Mr. Lott said quietly. "Pictures that move. How marvelous."

Alexa saw Sue glance anxiously at her as the queue slowly moved forward.

A quick stab of guilt at the shame she had momentarily felt for having Muggle parents had Alexa reaching back for her mother's hand.

She had so quickly denied her own parents even before anyone had heard them. Her fear at her true heritage being discovered had so often encompassed a vast part of her mind that at the slightest mention of her parents, her defenses were raised and she was spouting her best lies to hide the truth of it all.

Not that she had done a good job, she reminded herself darkly. Daphne Greengrass had discovered Alexa's origins and now Alexa was left fearing for the moment when Greengrass would reveal it to the whole school.

"Oi, Alexa! Sue! Back here!"

Alexa and Sue turned and saw Liam standing with a tall man with the same shade of light brown hair and long nose that Liam had. The woman at his side must be his mother, Alexa thought when she spotted the woman who put a hand on Liam's shoulder to keep him in place.

"Wait for me after you've gotten your books," Liam called up to them.

"We will," Sue called back while Alexa looked on.

"D'you know, I never thought he would actually be a friend," Sue said as they stepped forward a little more.

"Yeah, well, he knows about me, doesn't he?" Alexa said tersely. "It's best to keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

"Muggleborns," Sue sighed with a shake of her head.

The sound of disgruntled noises of outrage coming from the back of the shop had Alexa turning around in time to see the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid, parting the crowd easily, a boy with untidy black hair and broken round glasses at his side.

Harry Potter was covered in soot from head to toe, though he seemed to have gotten the worst of it off. He quickly joined the woman in front of Alexa, throwing an apologetic look to Sue and Alexa, who wore identical looks of annoyance of their face when Potter cut in front of them.

Ignoring the obviously happy reunion, Alexa turned to Sue and said, "Who do you reckon will be our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year?"

Sue shrugged. "Probably some witch, given the book list. Lockhart's quite popular, you know. He was voted as _Witch Weekly's_ Most Charming Smile five times in a row. He's written loads of books, too. He's fairly skilled," she added thoughtfully. "Mum loves him."

There was no denying his attractiveness, but as they got ever closer to the table, Alexa began to feel annoyed at all of the pictures that surrounded him. He seemed vain and, when they were close enough to hear him, she became certain of it.

When it was Potter's turn, Alexa wasn't the least bit surprised when Lockhart looked up and said, very loudly, "It can't be Harry Potter!"

All eyes in the store turned to Potter, who had turned a brilliant shade of red as Lockhart hurried into the crowd and pulled Potter back to the table with him.

Lockhart shook his hand vigorously while a photographer took pictures and when he had released Potter, put his arm around Potter's shoulder and held him close, much to Potter's obvious displeasure.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is," he announced over the quiet store. "The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography – which I shall present to him now, free of charge – he had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, _Magical Me_ ," Lockhart continued amidst applause from the crowd. "He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Alexa suppressed a groan.

She was going to have to deal with this pig for an entire year? Oh, how she hoped that the curse was true and that Lockhart would be unable to come back for a second year…

The crowd was cheering as Potter was handed all of Lockhart's books.

He managed to make his way back to the family he was with and dumped the books into the tiny red-haired girls' cauldron.

"You have these," Potter said as the books landed with a _thunk_ , "I'll buy my own."

Sue was pushed into Alexa, who stumbled a little, and the two of them both looked up in time to see Draco Malfoy standing in front of Potter.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" Malfoy sneered. Potter turned slowly around and fixed Malfoy with an annoyed look. "Famous Harry Potter can't even go to a book shop without making the front page."

"Jealous git," Sue muttered as she grabbed her books from the table. "If I hear him mention his father once, I'll scream."

Alexa laughed as she retrieved her own set of books.

She had just managed to return to her parents, who had moved off to the side, when a thin man in glasses hurried forward.

"Ron!" he exclaimed and Alexa looked around in time to see Potter and Hermione Granger grab the back of Ron Weasley's jacket. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"C'mon," Alexa said, ushering her parents forward just as a cold voice in front of her said, "Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley."

A man dressed in silky black robes with white-blonde hair was striding forward and Alexa moved herself and her parents out of the way as he brushed past, not even looking at them once.

"We have to go," Alexa urged. "I have a feeling this is about to get ugly."

The tension between the two men was palpable and Alexa did not want to be anywhere near them if wands were drawn.

They had just reached Liam, who was standing about midway through the bookstore, when someone yelled, "Get him, Dad!"

Every head in the store turned to the two men as they collided with a bookshelf, sending the bookshelf toppling and books raining down on top of them.

"Heavens!" Mrs. Lott exclaimed as the crowd backed away from the brawling wizards. "Is this usual?"

"Of course it's not, Mum." Alexa looked at Liam, who looked unsurprised. "We'll see you outside."

Liam shrugged as Hagrid lifted the two men off their feet. It was clear that both men had been injured, though whether from the bookshelf falling or by fists, it was unclear to Alexa.

Malfoy's father shoved a book at the small red-haired girl, offered some obviously menacing words, then stormed out of the bookstore, Malfoy following close behind. Both father and son were looking livid as they stormed past Alexa.

Alexa led the way from the store and it was only when they were back under the bright sunlight that she realized she had lost Sue.

"Well, I'm sure her parents have found her," Mr. Lott said reassuringly when Alexa pointed it out.

"But I don't want to leave if they haven't found her," Alexa cried.

"Let's go get something from the ice cream shop just over there and keep an eye out for her," Mrs. Lott suggested and, after the smallest prodding, Alexa allowed herself to be led over to the ice cream shop.

Alexa nursed her sundae while she watched the strange witches and wizards pass by. She was even almost a hundred percent positive she saw a vampire slouch by, her entire body covered save a tiny sliver of her face. Her eyes were darting all over the Alley as she passed.

Alexa watched her go before turning her attention back to her melting sundae just as Liam approached.

"Are you excited about our new teacher, Lott?" he asked as he set his books down on the table.

"I wanted to look in Eeylops," Mrs. Lott said suddenly, abandoning her sundae and pulling Mr. Lott to his feet. "Maybe get a cat or something…"

"But –" Mr. Lott sighed and looked regretfully down at his unfinished sundae. "Fine."

Alexa watched her parents hurry off, completely bemused, while Liam settled down in her father's vacant chair.

He pushed aside the sundae and, grinning, said, "I bet you're thrilled Lockhart's our teacher. All the girls are going to be beside themselves when they find out."

Alexa rolled her eyes. "He's a tad full of himself, don't you think?"

Liam smirked. "But isn't he just" – he leaned across the table and batted his eyes at her – " _so dreamy!_ "

Alexa pushed him away and finished up her sundae, all while resisting the urge to laugh as Liam was still batting his eyes at her, a goofy smile on his face.

"You're being ridiculous," Alexa told him, fighting her own smile. "Don't you have to buy more things for school? New uniforms, perhaps? You look like you've grown about a foot since I last saw you."

Liam sat straighter and beamed at her. "You noticed!" he said in mock surprise.

"Finally, I've found you!"

Alexa looked up just as Sue was sitting down.

"Mum and Dad went to the Leaky Cauldron to have an early dinner," Sue explained after Alexa questioned their absence. "I think Mum and Dad just wanted to give me time to see you before we go home."

"Well, I'll see you in two weeks anyways," Alexa said, her eyes falling on the passing family of Weasley's and Potter. Hermione seemed to have vanished.

"Shall we meet on the platform?" Sue asked as Alexa's parents approached the table.

"Yes, I think that would work," Alexa said as she got to her feet, to stand beside her mother.

"Well, I know my mum and dad are waiting for me," Liam said as he got to his feet. He smiled at Alexa. "See you in two weeks."

"See you."

Alexa and Sue both watched him go and, when he was out of earshot, Sue said, "It's curious to me that he didn't want to see his friends today. And I think he means to sit with us on the train."

"It is odd," Alexa agreed. They all started off towards the Leaky Cauldron. Overhead, the sun had begun to lower in the sky and Alexa could feel herself longing for home.

Once back in the Leaky Cauldron, Sue bid farewell and joined her parents at a table in the corner of the room while Alexa followed her own parents out, half of her new books tucked under her arm. Her new robes, ink and parchment, and replenished potion ingredients were in her mother's arms while her father carried the other half of her new books out of the pub and to their car.

Soon, Alexa thought as they left London behind them, she would be back at Hogwarts, back in her four poster bed, and back to her world.

Alexa listened to her parents' quiet conversation about the upcoming months and smiled to herself before turning her attention back to the darkening sky.

She could not wait to go back to Hogwarts and leave the Muggle world behind.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Because I keep getting rejection letters, I'm going to focus on this for a while. Or at least try to. Do enjoy.

* * *

As time was wont to do, it passed slowly. The remaining days of the holidays were some of the longest days Alexa could ever remember, though she was pleasantly surprised when her grandmother showed up the morning before she was to go back to school.

"You didn't think I would miss the chance to see you before you left, did you?" her grandmother said as she embraced Alexa tightly at the door. Foxes was bouncing around, yipping madly while Mr. Lott took Granny's suitcases up the stairs.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Alexa exclaimed as she took her grandmother's hand in hers and led her into the sitting room where tea and biscuits were already assembled. "I've got so much to tell you. My letters would be too thick for the owls if I told you everything!"

Granny sat beside Alexa, who had poured them both a cup of tea, and said, "Start from the beginning."

Alexa looked apologetically at her mother, who had seated herself in the armchair by the window.

"Mum and Dad have already heard it," she told Granny.

Her grandmother made a dismissive noise. "Tosh. I want to hear about it."

Alexa grinned. "Well, I got this letter, right, to go to King's Cross. It said to take the train from platform nine and three-quarters, but we so confused because there is no platform nine and three-quarters, but we figured it out. You have to go through the barrier and…"

By the time Alexa finished her tale, the tea had gone cold, the sun was burning hotly in the early afternoon sky, and Mr. and Mrs. Lott had disappeared to the kitchen.

"It sounds like a marvelous time," Granny said appreciatively as she set her empty teacup onto the table. "But I'm not sure how I feel about the troll getting in. Is it always like this?"

Alexa shrugged. "No one told me if it was normal or not, so I don't think it is. They thought Peeves let it in, but it turned out to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Granny frowned. "The one who tried to kill a student?"

"For You-Know-Who," Alexa said with a nod. "But since Potter stopped him, You-Know-Who didn't come back."

"Tell me more about him," Granny insisted. "I might be able to figure out if we're talking about the same person."

And so Alexa gave all the information she could on You-Know-Who and his followers, the Death Eaters.

"Most of the kids in my house are Death Eater's children," Alexa told her grandmother in a lowered voice. "Mum and Dad don't know. I think if they did, I wouldn't be allowed to go back and I love Hogwarts so much."

"Now these kids – will they tell their parents about you?"

"Only if they find out," Alexa said quickly, "and only if it benefits them. There is a girl who does know, but she's keeping it a secret until she can do something with it. I'm sure that the whole House will know I'm not at least a half-blood by the end of this year."

"And why's that?" Granny asked, leaning forward with obvious interest.

"Because she doesn't like me and if I make her angry enough, I'm sure she'll tell," Alexa said.

Her grandmother reached out and took Alexa's hand in her own, the cool skin soft and comforting. "Loyalty is more important than blood status, my dear. Your great-great-grandmother used to tell me that and I suppose she knew what she was talking about."

Alexa frowned. "But our ancestor, Norabella Tugwood, died so long ago! Surely your grandmother wouldn't know about blood status."

Granny smiled softly. "Darling, blood status is hardly a new thing in the world. And in any case, she was Norabella Tugwood's daughter. I suppose her mother told her a thing or two about magic and the people who belonged to that world."

"Could you imagine being born into a family of magic and discovering that you had none?" Alexa shuddered. "I think that would be terrible. And to be kicked out to go live in the Muggle world simply because you had no magic…How dreadful."

Her grandmother simply smiled at her then got to her feet. "Come. I am sure your mother would like us to eat something before dinner this evening."

"We had biscuits," Alexa said defensively, but all that same, she helped her grandmother carry the tea and empty plate of biscuits into the kitchen.

The next morning, Alexa rose early but, rather than get dressed immediately as she had done the year previously, she lay in bed for a while, listening to the sleeping world outside.

Knowing that they had to get moving soon, Alexa sighed in resignation and finally got out of bed.

She hated that it was such a long drive to London and she hated that her parents didn't take the aeroplane, but there was nothing Alexa could do about it.

Morgana watched her from her spot by a pillow as Alexa double checked that everything was packed.

Satisfied, Alexa pulled out Morgana's carrier from the depths of her closet and sat it on the bed.

"It's not time yet," Alexa soothed her apprehensive cat. "But you will need to get in it if you plan on going to Hogwarts with me."

Morgana sniffed then settled back down to sleep.

Shaking her head, Alexa then made her way down to the kitchen where, to her surprise, she found her grandmother cooking breakfast.

"Good morning," Granny greeted cheerfully while Mrs. Lott hovered around the brewing coffee. Mr. Lott had already settled himself at the table, hidden behind the paper.

Foxes circled happily around Alexa's feet, nearly tripping her as she made her way to the table to wait for whatever it was that her grandmother decided to cook.

Pouring herself a glass of orange juice, Alexa peered around the edge of her father's paper and said, "Anything interesting in there?"

He shook his head and flipped to the next page. "Nothing. They're still going on about the Duchess of York, though."

"Well, it was a scandal," Alexa reasoned as her mother sat down beside her, blowing absentmindedly on her coffee to cool it. "I mean, she's married to the Duke of York and she was seen with another man."

"I know, I know." Her father sighed and folded up his paper just as Granny sat down a plate of kippers, bacon, and potatoes. "This looks lovely, Mary, thank you."

Alexa didn't miss the subtle sarcasm in her father's voice, nor the dark look her grandmother shot at him as he drank deeply from his glass of orange juice.

"Don't push it," she snapped as she settled down into her seat between Alexa and Mr. Lott.

"Mum," Mrs. Lott said in a low warning tone.

"I'll not mar Alexa's big day," Granny said and Alexa felt her face turn pink. "She's going back to Hogwarts and I won't see her for God knows how long, so I'd like to spend a lovely morning with her, Daniel."

Mr. Lott snorted and Alexa say her grandmother's jaw clench.

It always amazed her that, no matter how old her grandmother was, she still seemed as feisty as ever, even if Alexa had noticed that she had lost a good deal of weight since last summer.

Mrs. Lott glanced at her watch then said, "Come on. You'd best get ready, Lexa, if you plan on getting on the train in time."

Once everything was loaded in the car, Alexa put Morgana in the backseat first then settled her on her lap once she was inside.

The world always looked so strange to Alexa when the sun hadn't even risen yet, though she did notice that it was beginning to lighten a little.

"Such a long drive," her father sighed as he started the engine.

Alexa napped as they left Lizard Peninsula behind and trekked towards London. By the time they reached the outskirts of the city, Alexa was wide awake and buzzing with excitement.

With twenty minutes to spare, Alexa hung back with her parents and grandmother for as long as she could.

After giving her mother and father a quick hug each, she turned to her grandmother, whose eyes were shining with unshed tears, and embraced her tightly.

"Have a fun year, my dear," Granny said quietly. "And write to me often. I want to know everything, even if it's more trolls."

Alexa, grinning, pulled back then took hold of her trolley. She glanced at the clock. She had seven minutes.

With one last look at her parents and grandmother, Alexa then turned and ran headfirst into the barrier and came out on the other side, the familiar scarlet train before her as families and students milled about on the platform.

To her immense relief, as she pushed her trolley through the crowds, Alexa spotted Sue, who was standing by a door, her parents with her.

Alexa made for her and, after hastily greeting the Li's, Alexa and Sue got settled into a compartment halfway through the train. As soon as the compartment door was closed, Alexa let Morgana out and then waited for the train to start moving.

"Did you have a good last two weeks at home?" Sue asked as she dug around in her bag. She withdrew a book then settled back into her seat, her eyes on Alexa.

"It was perfectly fine," Alexa replied, glancing anxiously towards the compartment door. Liam had said he was planning on sitting with them. Was he still going to come? "How was yours?"

"Mum and Dad are still miffed that I'm Slytherin, but they're more okay with it now that they've met you," Sue said with a broad grin and Alexa couldn't help but smile back.

The train had just lurched into motion when Liam burst into the compartment.

"Merlin's beard," Sue exclaimed as Liam shut the door and plopped down on the seat beside Alexa. "A bit of warning next time might be useful."

He shrugged then turned to Alexa, whose face felt like it was burning.

"Well I hope that no dark lords plan on ruining another school year," Liam said casually as, outside the windows, the city slipped away and gave way to countryside.

Alexa had dozed off when she was suddenly being shaken violently awake by a frantic Sue while Liam was rolling in his seat, tears streaming down his face as he struggled to get his breathing under control.

"Goodness, what _is_ it?" Alexa cried and, in answer, Sue pointed out of the train window.

Following her finger, Alexa lifted her eyes to the azure sky – and was startled to see a flying blue car riding alongside the train.

Alexa blinked and then the car was zipping upwards into the clouds and out of sight.

"What on earth was that?" Alexa gasped, looking between a stunned Sue and a howling Liam.

"Potter!" Liam wheezed. "And Weasley! Are flying! A car! To Hogwarts!" And he fell into a new fit of laughter, rendering him useless.

Turning to Sue for explanation, all Sue was able to do was shrug, still dumbfounded at the sight of the flying car.

"God Lord in heaven above, what are those two idiots doing?" Getting to her feet, Alexa left the compartment without a word and went in search of Hermione Granger, whom she found towards the back of the train sitting with Neville Longbottom and the tiny red haired girl from Flourish and Blotts.

"Alexa!" Hermione cried in surprise, leaping to her feet and tossing a textbook aside. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you, perhaps, see the phenomenon that just happened right outside the train?" she asked and Hermione looked confused while both Neville and the red haired girl looked on.

"No?" Hermione replied, stepping closer to Alexa. "What are you talking about?"

Gesturing between the girl and Neville, Alexa then asked, "Where exactly are Potter and Weasley, Hermione?"

Hermione's expression transitioned from confusion into exasperation immediately.

"What did you see?" Hermione asked, closing her eyes as if that would somehow change what Alexa had witnessed.

"Your two moronic friends are flying a car to school," Alexa explained and Hermione groaned while Neville looked nervously between Hermione and Alexa. Meanwhile, the girl shot to her feet, her hands balled into tiny fists as she glared at Alexa.

"My brother is not a moron," the girl shouted. "And neither is Harry Potter."

Alexa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Either way, they're going to be in loads of trouble when we get to Hogwarts. McGonagall won't stand for it."

Hermione seemed to be considering something then, finally, said, "Thank you, Alexa."

Knowing she was dismissed, Alexa backed out of the compartment and strode back towards her own when she was waylaid by Daphne Greengrass, who seemed to be on her way to the bathroom.

Greengrass glared at her. "What are you looking at?" she demanded.

"I was wondering that myself," Alexa responded coolly.

Grinning widely, Alexa slipped around Greengrass and continued on her way though worry gnawed at her. She should not have said that to Greengrass. She could reveal Alexa's parentage to the whole house at the Welcoming Feast tonight and Alexa would be bullied for the next six years, making life at school unbearable.

Whatever her fate, Alexa thought as she reentered her compartment and sat down beside Liam, who had calmed down and was stuffing a cauldron cake in his mouth, Alexa would face it with as much dignity as she could muster.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Another update. Do enjoy. Also, disclaimer that I'm not Jo...if it matters.

* * *

"Merlin's beard!" Sue gasped as we came up to horseless carriages. She had gone pale and her eyes were wide as she stood rooted to the spot. "What are those?"

Liam slipped by her and climbed into the carriage without a word and peered back up expectantly.

Frowning, Alexa said, "What's what?"

Sue lifted a trembling finger. "What are those?"

Following her gaze, Alexa couldn't see anything but the blank space where the horses should have been.

"Sue, I don't see anything," Alexa told her.

"But there's something there," Sue insisted as Alexa grabbed her arm and pulled her along. The carriages were starting up towards the blazing castle and Alexa didn't want to be late to the feast.

Shaking her head, Alexa said, "C'mon. You can explain it to me while we go up to the school."

"There's something there," Sue mumbled as she clambered into the carriage after Liam with Alexa following.

There was a jerk and the carriage was suddenly in motion, bumping and swaying up towards Hogwarts.

Jittery with excitement, Alexa peered eagerly towards the castle. She couldn't wait to get back to class, to see her four-poster bed and learn more spells. This year, she thought as they rounded a corner and the oak front doors came into view, was going to be amazing.

Though she knew Morgana would be waiting for her up in her dormitory, Alexa still felt guilty that she'd had to leave her behind on the platform. But as she stepped into the entrance hall and spotted McGonagall overseeing the arrival of the students, her guilt vanished.

She had forgotten just how stern McGonagall was and as she passed by her, she didn't miss the way the Transfiguration professor's eyes narrowed.

"Grouchy old bat," Liam said as they settled down at their table.

There was a great purple banner hanging behind the staff table and the candles that hovered above them illuminated the room as the enchanted ceiling twinkled with the stars.

Alexa sat herself between Sue and Liam and waited impatiently for the Sorting to begin.

As the Great Hall filled up, Alexa noticed at the staff table that Gilderoy Lockhart was chatting cheerfully to Professor Flitwick, who looked as though he was wishing someone would save him. Meanwhile, McGonagall's chair was empty, as was Professor Snape's, much to Alexa's surprise.

"I wonder where Snape is," Alexa said curiously, drawing both Liam's and Sue's attention to the staff table.

Liam shrugged. "Probably taking one last visit to the loo before the feast starts."

"Probably," Alexa giggled, making Sue sigh in exasperation.

Finally, everyone was settled in and McGonagall was striding towards the front of the hall where the battered Sorting Hat sat waiting on a stool. The first years looked tiny as ever and as Alexa was scanning them, she spotted the red haired girl from the compartment with Hermione and Neville.

Alexa wondered who she was, but then the Sorting Hat began singing a tune about the founders of Hogwarts and Alexa tuned them out.

Snape still hadn't shown up by the time the Sorting began and Alexa was beginning to wonder if he ever would.

Then, just as the red haired girl was being Sorted – Alexa discovered that her name was Ginevra Weasley – Snape appeared out of the door behind the staff table where he stood for a moment, waiting for McGonagall to finish up.

The Hat sat briefly upon Ginevra Weasley's flaming red hair for only a few seconds before it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" and, amidst raucous cheers coming from the other side of the hall, Ginevra Weasley scurried over to the Gryffindor table while McGonagall rolled up the parchment of names and carried the Hat back towards where Snape stood.

Alexa watched him lean in and say something to McGonagall, who reared back as though she had been slapped.

McGonagall motioned for Snape to move and, still carrying the Hat and the stool, McGonagall hurried after him and closed the door just as Professor Dumbledore got to his feet and welcomed everyone to a new year.

No sooner had Dumbledore sat back down than the food appeared.

Suddenly ravenous, Alexa helped herself to a bit of everything and it wasn't until she was on her second helping that she finally joined in on the conversations around her.

"You'll be able to try out for Quidditch this year," Liam was saying to Sue over Alexa. "I tried out last year for Chaser. Didn't make it." He shoved a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"Clearly," Sue said dryly. She looked at Alexa. "Will you try out?"

Alexa shook her head. "I haven't got a broom. And besides, I think I prefer watching more than participating."

Sue nodded in agreement.

Glancing back towards the staff table, she saw, to her surprise, that now Professor Dumbledore was gone.

What on earth was going on? she wondered. Alexa thought about pointing the three teacher's absence out but she knew that no one else particularly cared, and so she kept silent and finished her dinner.

Dessert had just taken the place of dinner when Alexa saw Snape, McGonagall, and Dumbledore all return.

Curious, Alexa stared at them all, as if that would help her glean whatever information should could about their whereabouts just by looking at them, but then Dumbledore looked up and his eyes landed on her.

Face burning, Alexa dropped her eyes to her plate of treacle fudge and waited until the embarrassment at having been discovered passed before she dared steal another look.

Dumbledore was engrossed in conversation with McGonagall, who looked livid. It was as if he was trying to calm her down.

Her curiosity growing, Alexa looked towards Snape, who was glaring at his plate, his pallid face even paler than usual and his thin lips drawn into a tight line of rage.

What on earth had happened? Alexa wouldn't help but ask herself.

Finally, the dessert disappeared as well and Dumbledore was getting to his feet.

The Great Hall fell silent and Alexa looked expectantly up at the headmaster, waiting for his speech.

"There are just a few reminders that I must go over before I send you off to bed," Dumbledore began, his eyes roving over the Hall. "As always, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to every student. And a reminder that there is to be no magic performed in the corridors. Now off to bed."

The clamoring of students getting to their feet filled the air as excited chatter rose up.

The Slytherin prefects were calling all first years to them and Alexa, alongside Sue and Liam, sidestepped them and joined the throng at the doors.

Alexa had forgotten just how chilly the dungeons were and, as they stepped lower and lower below the school, she wrapped her robes tightly around her to help stave off the cold.

 _"_ _Pureblood,"_ Liam said to the hidden door and it slid slowly open.

No matter how many times she said it, Alexa would never be okay with having to say Pureblood every time she wanted to go back to the common room. Mercifully, Sue usually said it if they were together, but sometimes, Alexa came back alone. It burned her every single time she said it. If her house knew the truth…. Alexa shuddered to think what would happen if Greengrass revealed it all.

Sleep was tugging at Alexa's eyes and she bid the other two goodnight. She wasn't in the mood to stay up late while listening to Draco Malfoy boast about whatever it was he got up to over the summer. He never shut up and Alexa wondered how long it would take before the whole house tied him and stuck tape across his mouth to shut him up.

She had just crawled under the covers – Morgana was already fast asleep beside her pillows – when the dormitory door swung open.

"What was it that was so important you couldn't tell us out there?" Pansy Parkinson whined.

"Shh!"

Alexa squeezed her eyes shut as she heard footsteps approaching her bed.

There was a rustle, a pause, and then her curtains swung back into place as Greengrass's voice filled the dormitory.

"I learned a little something about our friend Lott," Greengrass began.

Pansy snorted. "Lott isn't our friend."

"You're missing the point," Greengrass said impatiently.

"Then what is it?" Pansy sighed.

Alexa's heart was hammering in her chest and no matter how tightly she squeezed her eyes shut, it didn't stop her from hearing what came next.

"She's not a pureblood," Greengrass said triumphantly.

"We knew that," Millicent Bulstrode pointed out. she sounded dismissive and Alexa almost thought she could hug her.

"But she's not half, either," Greengrass went on.

The room was so silent, Alexa knew that they would hear her heartbeat.

"She's not…" Millicent trailed off, sounding incredulous.

"Oh, that's absolutely brilliant," Pansy crowed.

"Alexa Lott is a Mudblood," Daphne Greengrass revealed and Alexa buried her face in her pillows, tears staining them.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay. Life's been kicking my ass these last few weeks and I haven't had the time to post updates. Anyhow, here's the new chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

Alexa sat with her head resting on her books as the classroom filled in. Sue was sitting silently beside her and Alexa could feel the rage radiating off of her.

She had told Sue that morning that Greengrass had revealed to Parkinson and Bulstrode Alexa's true parentage. Ever since then, Alexa could tell that Sue was ready to pounce as soon as Greengrass or any of the other two threatened to speak.

"Just let it alone," Alexa finally said, her voice muffled against her books.

They were waiting for McGonagall to arrive, which was unusual, since she was always already seated at her desk. Perhaps she was going to make a grand entrance to psych them up for what was to come in Transfiguration this year. Or not, Alexa thought as McGonagall strode briskly in, her arms laden with books.

She dropped them unceremoniously onto her desk and immediately began lecturing the class.

While they took notes, Alexa kept stealing glances over her shoulder at Greengrass, who was watching her with a wicked grin.

Alexa realized that Greengrass knew that she had overheard them last night.

Fear gripped her and she turned back around just as McGonagall fixed a stern glare on her.

Hurrying to catch up on her notes, Alexa settled down to the task at hand and did not look back at Greengrass until class was dismissed an hour later.

"Look, I know you're mad," Alexa said to Sue as they headed towards the greenhouses where the Ravenclaws were already assembled, "but it's my burden to bear. Greengrass can tell the whole school and nothing will change who I am. Just let it go. Think about Weasley this morning and his wonderful Howler."

Sue grinned widely at that. "Oh, Merlin's beard, that was marvelous."

 _"'_ _If you put another toe out of line, we'll bring you straight back home!'"_ Sue wiped at her eyes, which were filling with mirth. "How wonderful to see Weasley get a Howler."

"That's what the idiot gets for flying a car to school." Alexa shook her head in disbelief. "I didn't even know cars could fly."

Sue shrugged as Professor Sprout emerged from one of the greenhouses. "If you know the right spells, anything can fly."

"Greenhouse three today," Sprout informed them as she led them towards one of the furthest greenhouses.

Alexa felt a little bubble of excitement at the thought of the more dangerous plants inside greenhouse three. They had only ever been in greenhouse one and she couldn't wait to see what Sprout had planned for the lesson.

"Right." Professor Sprout rubbed her hands together, looking eager. She was wearing her usual patched up hat over her messy hair and her round cheeks were pink with either exertion or excitement, Alexa couldn't tell. "Today we are going to be repotting Mandrakes. Who can tell me the properties of the mandrake? Anyone?"

A tiny Ravenclaw girl with dark hair and pale skin raised a hand.

"Yes?" Sprout said, gesturing for her to speak.

"It's a powerful plant," the girl said in a trembling voice. "It can restore anyone who has been cursed or transfigured back to their normal state."

Professor Sprout beamed. "Wonderful. Ten points to Ravenclaw."

The Ravenclaw girl blushed furiously and ducked her head while another girl beside her whispered something in her ear, making the redness in her cheeks intensify.

"Now, Mandrakes – or Mandragora, depending on who you're talking to – are fairly important as they are used in most antidotes," Sprout told them. "But they can also be incredibly dangerous. Can anyone tell me why?"

Another Ravenclaw girl's hand shot up. She was taller than the other one and her dark hair was braided and pinned back against her neck.

"Miss Turpin?" Sprout prompted.

"Its cry can be fatal," the Ravenclaw named Turpin answered smoothly.

"Another ten points," Professor Sprout said and Alexa looked around to see the Slytherin's looking annoyed. "However, these Mandrakes here are very young and while their cries will not kill you, they can still knock out for some time." She lifted up a pair of earmuffs and everyone else followed suit. "Make sure that when you put them on, they are covering your ears completely. We don't need anyone to see Madam Pomfrey on their first day back. When it is safe to do so, remove your earmuffs after I give you a thumbs-up. Right then – earmuffs on!"

Alexa slipped her earmuffs on and was astonished at how well they shut out the sound. She couldn't hear anything at all.

Professor Sprout put on a pair of fairly revolting pink, fluffy earmuffs, rolled up her sleeves, and grasped one of the Mandrakes before pulling it hard out of the pot.

Alexa stared in shock at the thing squirming in Sprout's hand.

There was what looked like a rather ugly baby beneath the leaves and it was wriggling around, wailing.

Professor Sprout pulled over a new, bigger pot and dumped the Mandrake unceremoniously into it before putting fresh soil over it, covering it completely until only its leaves were left. She then brushed the dirt off her hands, removed her earmuffs, and gave the class a thumbs-up.

Alexa pulled off her earmuffs and leaned against the table, eager to get started.

"Right, four to a tray. There are more pots over here, compost over there. Oh, and watch out for the Venomous Tentacula," she added dryly, slapping at a dark red plant that had begun inching around her side. "It's teething."

Alexa and Sue were joined by two Ravenclaw girls, one of whom had been the girl who had answered first.

She knew them only by their faces, having seen them in class plenty of times before and spotting them in the corridors.

The other girl, a tall, blonde haired girl with freckles covering her whole face, nodded curtly. "I'm Mandy Brocklehurst and this is Lily Moon," she introduced, gesturing to the dark haired girl who looked as though she wanted to run.

"Alexa Lott," Alexa replied, "and this is Sue Li."

Mandy eyed both Alexa and Sue warily for a moment before stepping up to the trays of Mandrakes and, without a word, promptly shoved her earmuffs on and gripped her Mandrake.

Alexa rushed to slap her own earmuffs on and had only gotten them in place before Mandy Brocklehurst ripped hers clear out of the pot and deposited it into a newer, bigger one.

Alexa thought the Mandrakes were ugly little things and couldn't wait to be done with the lesson. But that proved to be rather difficult as the Mandrake in her hands fought her every time she tried to place it in the pot. Both Mandy and Professor Sprout had made it look rather easy, but as Alexa discovered, it was not. When the lesson was finally over and she had successfully repotted her Mandrake, Alexa was covered in sweat and dirt and wanted nothing more than to have a quick rest before the next lesson, but she knew that was never going to happen.

So after washing up, Alexa and Sue led the way down to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, all the while listening to Draco Malfoy abuse the new professor, Lockhart.

Truthfully, Alexa didn't know a thing about him, though he certainly did seem to be self-obsessed. But she was confident that Dumbledore wouldn't have hired him if he hadn't thought that the man was up to the challenge of teaching the rumored cursed position.

Or so she hoped.

The classroom door swung open and revealed Lockhart clad in turquoise robes and a beaming smile plastered to his face, revealing his extremely straight, extremely white teeth.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully, stepping aside to let the class in. Alexa and Sue took a seat in the back of the class and Alexa stacked up her books while Lockhart went on talking. "Welcome! It _is_ exciting to be here! But of course, who else would be better suited for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts but me?" He reached over and picked up Pansy Parkinson's copy of Gadding with Ghouls, and pointed to the picture of himself that took up the entire cover. "Me. Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming-Smile Award." He gave a wave of his hand and replaced the book on Parkinson's desk. "But I don't talk about that! I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"

There was a pause and Alexa had the distinct impression that he was waiting for them laugh, but when no one did, he cleared his throat awkwardly and strode towards his desk.

"I see that everyone has my books, wonderful!" Lockhart said with a beam, rubbing his hands together in excitement. "I rather thought we'd better start today's lesson by taking a little quiz – nothing to worry about, of course. It's only to judge just how much you retained whilst reading my books."

He handed out the test papers and Alexa looked down at hers.

Frowning, she leaned over to Sue and said, "What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color? What is this nonsense?"

Sue snorted. "That pig is so unbelievably full of himself."

Alexa looked up at Lockhart, who had settled at his desk, looking pleased with himself, and forced herself not to laugh.

 _What a joke_ , she thought viciously as Lockhart said, "You have thirty minutes starting – _now_."

And so she answered every question, no matter how silly it was. She hardly cared how she did, for the questions were not at all about the subjects matters of his books, but rather about him and what he liked and what his greatest accomplishment to date was.

When their thirty minutes was up and the quizzes were collected, Alexa said to Sue, "Is it bad that I'm hoping that curse takes him out, too?"

Sue snorted with laughter just as Lockhart announced that not a single person got full marks.

"The highest score goes to" – he rifled through the papers and pulled one out – "to Miss Millicent Bulstrode. Where is she?" He glanced up to locate her and Millicent Bulstrode raised her hand slightly in the air. Alexa was positive that Bulstrode was blushing so hard, one could fry bacon on her face. "Good job. Five points for Slytherin. And now on to the dirty business."

Lockhart bent down and retrieved a covered cage, which was rattling ominously.

Alexa leaned back in her seat, suddenly anxious.

Lockhart seemed a full. Surely he didn't actually bring something dangerous into the class?

"I ask you not to scream, for these are truly sensitive creatures and you could provoke them," Lockhart began seriously. In front of Alexa, Theodore Knott sank down in his seat.

The whole class held its breath as Lockhart whipped off the cover to reveal ugly little blue creatures with wings, bat-like ears, and wide eyes. Their teeth were sharp and one had pressed itself against the cage, making a face at Goyle, who leaned back in his seat away from the creature.

"Freshly caught Cornish pixies!" Lockhart announced and someone to Alexa's left let out a sigh of relief. "What is it?" Lockhart had a forced smile on his face as he stared at the perpetrator.

"These aren't dangerous," the student – by the sounds of it, Daphne Greengrass – said haughtily.

"Not dangerous?" Lockhart repeated and Greengrass nodded. He laughed. "Very well, very well. Let us see what you make of them then, eh?"

And then, to everyone's horror, he opened the cage and chaos reigned.

Alexa dove under her desk and pulled Sue down with her.

"He's mental!" Alexa cried over the clamor. She dared sneak a glance out from under her desk and saw some pixies pick Crabbe up by the ears and lift him into the air while he flailed uselessly against them.

"We've got to get out of here," Sue cried.

"Class isn't over yet," Alexa remind her as she swatted at a pixie that grabbed the ends of her hair.

Mercifully, at that moment, the bell rang and Alexa, with Sue right behind her, led the way from the classroom and out into the corridor beyond. They didn't stop until they reached the Great Hall for lunch and even then, Alexa was afraid that the pixies would come and attack them while they ate.

"What an idiot," Sue grumbled as she loaded up her plate. "He's a fool. And so is Dumbledore for bringing him on to teach us."

Alexa kept her mouth shut as she listened to Sue abusing the headmaster.

She had never told anyone that she had been to see him last year or that he had revealed to her a valuable bit of family history. She trusted him, but she knew she could absolutely never tell anyone that. And she doubted that she ever would. That was something one didn't reveal over lunch.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hey, everyone. Does anyone still read this? I know... two years. But hey, a lot's been going on! I wrote a book, got it published, then started a petition with others in the publishing house to get paid, 'cause we were, ya know... not paid for a couple of quarters. So I don't have a published book anymore, but it's all good. Indie publishing is a hit or miss, tbh. Anyways, started watching Harry Potter, as one does, and got the urge to come back to this. That, and I am absolutely procrastinating on working on my current WIP, so there's that. I won't promise I'll keep up with this, either, but for now... enjoy!

* * *

It took a few more days before Alexa fell back into a routine at Hogwarts and several more for her brain to not feel as though it was overloaded.

She had received plenty of letters from home, several of which were from Granny and a few that were from Jo, but most of them were from her parents, hoping she was enjoying herself. They often asked her what she had learned, but Alexa always kept the descriptions vague. They wouldn't understand what she was talking about in any case, not unless they cracked open her textbooks for themselves and read about it.

On their second weekend, Alexa devoted almost a whole morning to replying to all the letters but ending up writing the most to Jo.

It was a great relief to Alexa to know that she could now confide in her best friend about her life at school without having to worry about anything. Not that there was much to tell—yet. But it was Hogwarts, Alexa thought as she made her way to the Owlery. There was bound to be something exciting happening soon.

She ran into Hermione Granger at the top of the Owlery stairs.

"Er, shall I wait for you?" Hermione asked nervously as Alexa slipped past her.

They hadn't said much to one another since the end of last year and even that had been awkward, seeing as Hermione and her two friends had just gone through a series of tests to save some precious stone from Professor Quirrell, who had, it turned out, been a host to You-Know-Who.

"Sure," Alexa replied, feeling awkward. "I'll only be a moment."

Hermione bobbed her head, her hands twisting, as she Alexa stepped into the Owlery.

She picked the closest owl and sent the letters off before a full minute had passed and then she was stepping back out into the crisp early autumn afternoon.

"So how was your holiday?" Alexa asked as the two made their way down the Owlery stairs.

"Fairly good," Hermione replied. "My parents and I took a brief holiday in Scotland then came back just as my Hogwarts letter came."

"My grandmother lives in Scotland," Alexa revealed, thinking of Granny. "I love visiting, but my dad doesn't like her very much, so I only get to go when my mum can. It's not very often, but this year, she came to visit and see me off."

Hermione smiled at that. "That sounds lovely."

"It was," Alexa said.

They were silent for a while before Alexa broke it by asking, "Did you ever find out why Potter and Weasley flew that car to school?"

"Yes, Harry and Ron missed the train," Hermione said irritably, emphasizing both Potter and Weasley's names. Alexa knew Hermione was annoyed at her blatant lack of use of them, but she couldn't have cared less, for she barely liked Potter and couldn't stand Weasley in the slightest. "They thought that the best course of action, having missed the train, was to fly to school instead of sending an owl to inform the school of the problem. Ron got a Howler the next day and the two have got detention."

"Yes, I heard that," Alexa said, snickering. " _'If you put a toe out of line, we'll bring you straight home!'_ How marvelous."

She looked over to see Hermione scowling at her.

Alexa raised her hands in surrender. "Right. Sorry."

Hermione sighed. "I sometimes forget that there is such a rivalry between our two houses when we talk."

"It _does_ seem a bit ridiculous," Alexa agreed, "but then, most of the school treats those of us in my house like the worst people in the world when, in fact, we're not all bad. Sure, there are apparently children of Death Eaters thrown into the mix, but one can always turn over a fresh leaf. Children don't always become their parents."

Hermione was frowning.

"What?" Alexa asked.

"What are Death Eaters?" Hermione inquired.

Alexa nearly laughed. She was amazed that she actually knew something Hermione Granger did not.

"They're the people that worked for You-Know-Who when he was in power," Alexa explained as they stepped into the corridor that led to the library. "They've got kids now and all of them are in my house. It doesn't exactly help the 'we're not all evil' motto I'm trying to get started."

Hermione looked at Alexa, perplexed.

Alexa sighed. "Never mind. Humor and the dark arts just don't go together, do they?"

"No," Hermione said with a shake of her head, smiling in a puzzled fashion. She gestured towards the tables. "Right, well, I've got to do some research. I'll see you later?"

Alexa nodded. "Sure."

Hermione broke away and disappeared behind a row of books while Alexa went in search of Sue, who she knew was working on a Charms essay.

Taking a seat without a word, Alexa pulled one of the books Sue was using and flipped idly through the pages.

"I need that," Sue said in an angry whisper, ripping it out of Alexa's hands. "I haven't finished this essay yet."

"Well I could help," Alexa offered, leaning against the gleaming wood table, but Sue waved her off. "Fine." Alexa got to her feet. "I'll go find someone who _will_ talk to me."

"Go for it," Sue said distractedly.

Shooting a glare at Sue, Alexa left the library and walked aimlessly through the corridors. Liam had made it onto the Quidditch team and they were currently practicing, so she couldn't very well go and talk to him. Hermione was researching and Alexa had no idea where Hannah Abbott was. She hadn't even spoken to Hannah since the end of last year.

Bored and lonely, Alexa strode outside and looked down towards Hagrid's hut.

It had been over a year since Hagrid had barged through her front door and revealed that she was a witch and just as long since she had spoken to him. She had no idea how he felt about her becoming a Slytherin and she knew that Hagrid despised Slytherin's a great deal. Was he disappointed in her?

Somehow, she felt wounded at the idea and turned away from Hagrid's hut and started towards the Black Lake. But seeing Greengrass standing by the edge while Bulstrode sat close by had her stopping in her tracks.

It had been some time since she had overheard Greengrass telling the others about her true parentage and she was waiting for the moment when Greengrass would reveal the truth to the entire house. She doubted Parkinson or Bulstrode would keep it to themselves much longer.

The feeling of waiting for the moment when all was revealed was like an ax hanging over her neck. She had no idea when it would fall, but she knew it would—and it would hurt her like nothing she had ever felt before when it did.

She could write to Jo, Alexa mused as she stepped back into the warm and inviting interior of the castle, but she had just sent a rather lengthy letter to her and doubted Jo would want another one so soon.

What to do? she wondered as she meandered through the castle corridors. It was, of course, beautiful outside, but with no one to talk to, it was a lonely prospect, sitting on the lawn by herself.

In the end, Alexa went back to the common room to work on a potions essay and chose a spot in a far corner where she could see and hear everything while she worked. That way, she could listen and see if Greengrass had, in fact, spilled the beans about her parentage.

A loud burst of laughter drew Alexa from her essay nearly an hour later and her heart skipped several beats as she feared Greengrass was there, telling her secret. But no, she realized. It was a group of third years sitting by the fire and Greengrass wasn't anywhere in sight.

Sitting back in her seat, quill held loosely in her grasp, Alexa's mind drifted to the week before when she had received quiet praise from Snape during double potions for producing one of the better potions out of the class, right behind Hermione and Malfoy.

They had been brewing an antidote using lacewing flies and cut up salamander tails. The color was supposed to be a vivid blue and have a thick consistency and aside from Hermione and Malfoy, Alexa had been the only other one to get it right, earning herself five points for Slytherin.

Dropping her quill, Alexa rolled up her half-finished essay and stuffed it into her bag before taking it to her dormitory and dropping it off on her bed. She couldn't sit inside any longer. She needed air, even if Liam and Sue were too busy to keep her company.

Humming softly to herself, Alexa headed back to the front doors when someone from behind her called out to her.

Turning around, Alexa found Liam striding towards her, broom slung over his shoulder and a gleam in his eyes.

"I take it practice went well," she observed when he was close enough that she didn't need to yell.

He grinned widely and practically shoved the broom under her nose. "Look what Malfoy's father got the team! We all have a _Nimbus 2001_! It was a bribe to let Malfoy on the team, but he's a pretty decent Seeker anyways. Flint's pleased. These are the best brooms out there. _And_ they're better than Potter's _Nimbus 2000_."

"I would assume that would be the case given that it is the next model after Potter's old one. They tend to be better when it's a newer one," Alexa replied with a smirk.

Liam pulled a face and swung the gleaming _Nimbus 2001_ over his shoulder again. "You're ruining my mood, Lott."

Alexa shrugged. "Not my problem, Corcoran."

Still pulling a face, Liam then asked, "Where are you headed?"

"I don't know," she said with another shrug. "I don't want to be inside, but Sue's in the library and you were practicing. I was planning on sitting outside for a bit while the weather's still nice."

"Right, well, let me put this away and I'll be right back," Liam said, turning curiously pink as he spoke.

Alexa watched him leave and leaned against the stone wall next to the doors.

Ever since she had come back from holiday, she had felt a curious pull to be with Liam. Any time he made a joke, no matter how lame it was, she would laugh. And when they worked on homework together, she would often find herself paying more attention to him than whatever she was supposed to be doing. Mercifully, he never seemed to notice.

 _Oh no,_ Alexa thought with an internal groan. She _liked_ him.

"Well that changes some things," she muttered to herself just as Liam reappeared, sans broom and sporting a wide grin.

"Shall we?" he said, gesturing to the front doors and Alexa led the way out onto the lawn.

They chose a spot on the opposite side of the lake from Greengrass and the others and as they settled down in the grass, Liam asked, "Has Greengrass said anything?"

Shaking her head, Alexa said, "No, and I'm terrified of when she's going to do it. why not just tell everyone now? What is she waiting for? And she's told Parkinson and Bulstrode, so I don't know how they haven't said anything. But if Parkinson knows, then Malfoy certainly knows, which means Crabbe and Goyle and probably Knott and Zabini know." She sighed heavily and hid her face in her hands. "It's a mess."

"I know this isn't comforting, but Greengrass probably has something up her sleeve," Liam said and Alexa lifted her head to give him a hopeless look.

"Please _don't_ give me nightmares," she pleaded and Liam offered her a comforting smile that made her stomach flip.

Pulling his knees close to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, Liam said, "Look, Greengrass is gonna do what she's gonna do. You can't stop her. Anyone who actually matters isn't going to care what you are. For most of us, we're Slytherin's and that means more. Everyone hates us and if we start hating each other, we're sort of doomed."

"I know that," Alexa replied, mirroring Liam's position. "I just can't bear the thought of everyone staring at me and judging me because my parents are Muggles."

"Sod 'em," Liam said bracingly. "You've got me and you've got Sue. We already know you've got Muggle parents, so what's it matter? And I know you're friends with Granger, so you've got her, too. And anyways, isn't she a Muggleborn?"

Alexa nodded. "Yeah, but Gryffindors don't care about blood. Only us."

"Yeah, it's part of our charming personalities," Liam said sarcastically before grinning widely, easing some of Alexa's worries.

Later on that afternoon, a little before supper, found Alexa sitting in the common room alone while Liam went off to the library for a book on Red Caps and Hinkypunks, whatever those were.

Picking up a nearby book, she had only just flipped it open when Morgana hopped onto her lap, kneaded her legs for a moment, then curled up and began purring loudly.

Stroking Morgana's head absentmindedly, Alexa scanned a few lines of the book, realized that it was a novel about a witch who fell in love a Muggle earl somewhere in York and tossed it aside.

Still petting Morgana, Alexa stared into the dancing flames of the fire before her and found her mind going back to worrying about when Greengrass would reveal everything.

Was she going to live her whole life at Hogwarts in fear that her house would reject her the moment they discovered the truth about her? Surely there were plenty of other Muggleborns in the house at that moment. Dumbledore had told her so the previous year that there had been several Muggle-born students, so there must have been plenty more with this year's Sorting.

 _Right?_ she thought morosely.

Liam suddenly dropped down beside her at that moment, pulling her from her thoughts and startling her so bad that she jumped. Morgana hissed and leapt off Alexa's lap, darting off towards the dormitories while Liam chuckled.

"If we were older, I'd say that you need a drink," Liam said with a grin.

Alexa lifted her eyes to his and the grin slid off his face.

"Hey, c'mon, don't let Greengrass stop you from having fun," Liam said gently, guessing where her thoughts were. "She comes from a family of Death Eaters, so we all know her family is loads of fun at dinner parties."

Alexa smiled at that. "All that talk about pure bloodlines must work up an appetite for them," she laughed.

Liam scrunched his nose. "But honestly, if we didn't marry Muggles or Muggleborns, the pureblood Wizarding lines would eventually die out. Which, admittedly, wouldn't exactly be a terrible thing," he added.

"Unless your name is Weasley," Alexa snickered and Liam sneered.

"The Weasley's are morons, all of them," he said with a shake of his head. "The only worthwhile ones are the twins and that's because they've pulled some pretty good pranks on the teachers and Filch. They're always up to something. I'd be surprised if they didn't make a living out of making people's lives hell."

"Liam," Alexa scolded but Liam looked at her unconcernedly.

Patting her knee and making her heart skitter at the contact, Liam said, "C'mon. It's dinner time and I'm starving."

On the way out of the common room, they passed Greengrass and Bulstrode. Alexa did not miss the way Greengrass's eyes lit up at the sight of her or the wicked grin playing on her lips.

The sight filled Alexa with dread and all she could think was _when_? When was she going to tell the house, the school, that she was a Muggleborn?

Correction, Alexa told herself fiercely as she fell into step beside Liam, a _Mudblood_.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you enjoyed and please leave reviews! There is honestly nothing better than even getting a "This was good!" on anything someone writes. I'm a fan of reviews, so ya know... leave one? And while you're at it, leave some on your favorite books, too. Seriously. Reviews are books life source. Not even kidding. Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** At the present moment, I plan on keeping up with this. There are at least two other chapters to be posted, so there's that. As ever, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

October passed by in a blur and before Alexa knew it, she woke up and the whole castle smelled like candy and roasting meat. Halloween had arrived and Alexa found herself looking towards the feast that night with great anticipation. The one thing she did miss, though, she thought as she dressed, was putting on a costume and going around for candy at home.

But they got a feast, so that was one better. As long as the trolls stayed out of the castle, she thought with a momentary bit of panic. She didn't think she could handle another troll situation.

She glanced, out of habit, towards Greengrass, who was too busy brushing out her hair to pay any attention to Alexa, before dropping her eyes to her shoes as she slipped them on.

For the better part of the last month, Greengrass had stayed away from Alexa and, though she was still terrified of her, Alexa felt herself becoming bolder around Greengrass. She no longer cowered in fear every time the girl walked into a room and she was able to meet her cold gaze with icy indifference.

Alexa and Sue met up with Liam in the common room and Alexa laughed as Liam rubbed his hands together in obvious anticipation.

"I can't wait for the feast tonight," Liam announced as they stepped out of the common room. He sniffed the air for good measure. "It's going to be great."

"Isn't it always?" Sue remarked, shooting a look at Alexa. "And anyways, it isn't as though we can dress up, which is the best part about Halloween, if you ask me."

"I didn't," Liam shot back, earning himself a smack on the arm.

Alexa and Sue giggled while Liam scowled at them.

"Oi!" he cried, rubbing at the spot furiously. "That hurt!"

Sue sneered. "Good."

Outside of the Great Hall, Alexa spotted Hermione, who was standing with the red-haired girl from the train. The girl looked a little dazed, but otherwise perfectly fine as she spoke to Hermione.

Spotting Alexa, Hermione said to the girl, "I'll see you inside," and came over to stand with Alexa while Liam and Sue slipped into the Great Hall.

"Are you excited for the feast tonight?" Hermione asked as students filed into the Great Hall for breakfast.

"I s'pose," Alexa said with a shrug. "Are you?"

Hermione made a face.

"What?" Alexa wondered.

"Harry told Nearly Headless Nick that we'd go to his Death Day party this evening," Hermione said with a smile. "I thought it would be exciting-and I'm sure it will be. But being outside the Great Hall and smelling everything that's being prepared for the feast tonight makes me wish I hadn't agreed to go now."

"So don't go," Alexa said with a dismissive shrug. "It hardly seems fair that Potter got roped into going to some ghost's party celebrating his death and you have to go."

"But I promised him I would." Hermione tugged at the ends of her bushy hair in obvious anxiety. "I can't go back on my word."

"I would," Alexa said with a snort.

Hermione's brown eyes narrowed and she released her hair. "Of course you would. You're a Slytherin. That's the difference between us."

"A House is the difference, eh?" Alexa grinned widely. "Clearly you take more stock in the Houses than I do."

Hermione scowled. "Go away."

Chuckling, Alexa slipped into the Great Hall and moved over to the Slytherin table, settling down between Sue and Liam.

She had just finished off her plate of bacon and eggs when Greengrass, along with Parkinson and Bulstrode, sat down across from them.

"Oh God," Alexa groaned with a slight roll of her eyes. "What do you want?"

The smile slipped ever so slightly on Greengrass's face, but then it was back in place as she leaned against the table.

"I'd watch your back today, Lott, if I were you," Greengrass said.

Before Alexa could say anything, however, the three girls were back on their feet and striding from the Great Hall.

Stomach in knots and fear keeping her in her seat, Alexa stared after them. Her throat was dry and it was almost impossible to swallow the rest of her breakfast.

"Don't listen to them," Liam said bracingly. "They're just trying to scare you."

"Well, it's working." Alexa ran her hands up and down her arms to try and get rid of the gooseflesh that had popped up, but it was useless. She was petrified now of what Greengrass had in store for her and wanted nothing more than to spend the day in her bed. But then the bell signaling the first lesson rang and she was shuffling after Sue towards Herbology.

What was Greengrass going to do?

Her fear followed her for the rest of the day and by the time the feast started that evening, she had lost her appetite completely despite the mouth-watering smells coming from the Great Hall.

Bats fluttered over the tables and the jack-o-lanterns flickered eerily above the tables. At the front of the Hall sat the professors. Alexa noticed that Dumbledore and McGonagall were in deep conversation while Snape spoke quietly to Flitwick. Lockhart was the only one sitting silently, but Alexa didn't miss how he tried—and failed—to strike up conversations with those sitting beside him.

Alexa almost felt sorry for him, but then she remembered the disastrous first lesson and the feeling vanished. He hadn't been much of a teacher since, either. All he did was read a paragraph or two from his books then the rest of the time, he would recount the tale in increasing enthusiasm until the bell rang and they were able to escape.

"C'mon, Lexa," Sue said, nudging Alexa in the side. "You've gotta eat something."

Alexa picked up a chicken leg and bit into it, her mind and eyes on Greengrass.

Greengrass was sitting between Parkinson and, to Alexa's surprise, Blaise Zabini. She was grinning like a fool every time Blaise spoke to her and the wheels in Alexa's mind began to turn.

She had to get ahead of Greengrass, had to find a way to bring her down before she brought Alexa down. Greengrass clearly liked Blaise and maybe Alexa could use that to her advantage.

As the feast dwindled down, Alexa began to notice how Parkinson and Bulstrode kept glancing her way.

"Whatever Greengrass is planning, it's tonight," Alexa said quietly to Liam, whose eyes widened as they moved over to the huddled girls.

Liam swallowed the candied apple he had been eating and said, "Sue and I are with you, Lott, whatever happens."

Alexa felt tears prick her eyes as her heart swelled at his words. "Thank you," she said sincerely. She didn't miss the way Liam's cheeks turned pink before he was able to hide it.

When Greengrass, Parkinson, and Bulstrode got to their feet, Alexa shrunk down in her seat. But to her relief—and surprise—the trio kept walking and left the Great Hall just as the rest of the school started filing out.

Alexa found herself behind Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, all of whom were snickering about something. She had a nasty feeling that it was about her, but she forced herself to shrug it off. Whatever happened would happen. Better the House found out now that she was a Muggle-born than later on, she thought miserably.

Beside her, Sue took her hand and gave it a tight squeeze before releasing her again.

"It'll be fine," Sue reassured her. "After a while, no one will care."

"But _they'll_ care," Alexa pointed out, jerking her head towards Malfoy and his cronies. "For a bit, at least."

They hadn't made it very far down the corridor when everyone came to an abrupt halt.

Craning her neck over the crowd, Sue asked, "What's going on?"

"Dunno." Liam pushed the crowd in front of him a little only to receive a scowling look from Goyle. "Right, well, haven't the foggiest what's going on, but everyone's stopped."

"It isn't another troll, is it?" someone from behind Alexa asked.

Standing on tiptoe, Alexa peered over the heads of those in front of her and spotted something written on the wall.

"What is that?" she wondered. "'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened—'"

"Enemies of the Heir, beware!" Malfoy suddenly shouted. "You'll be next, Mudbloods."

Then, to Alexa's horror, Malfoy turned, spotted her, and shot her a nasty grin.

Oh, God, he knew, she thought, her stomach sinking.

"Is that Mrs. Norris?" Sue suddenly asked and Alexa shifted her gaze from the words to what was hanging on a torch bracket.

The cat was hanging by her tail, oddly stiff, and Alexa couldn't help but think of Morgana and what would happen if that had been her hanging there.

She shuddered and Sue touched her arm lightly.

"Look, Potter, Weasley, and Granger are right there," Liam said, a delighted gleam in his eye. "Looks like they'll be in trouble."

"What's going on here?" someone shouted and the crowd parted to let Mr. Filch walk through. "What's going on?"

When he reached the front and spotted Mrs. Norris, he stopped dead in his tracks and shrieked, "My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?"

Alexa craned her neck and saw Mr. Filch reach for Potter, saying, "You! _You!_ You've murdered my cat! I'll kill you! I'll—"

"Argus!"

At that exact moment, Professor Dumbledore, with several teachers right behind him, arrived on the scene. All of their eyes were on the grisly sight before them and Alexa saw Professor Sprout clap a hand over her mouth.

Dumbledore stepped calmly forward and removed Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket, saying, "Come with me, Argus." Then he looked to Potter, Weasley, and Granger and beckoned them along.

At that moment, Professor Lockhart suddenly appeared and said, "My office is nearest, Headmaster—just upstairs—please feel free—"

"Thank you, Gilderoy," Professor Dumbledore said and the crowd parted to let everyone pass.

Alexa thought Lockhart looked far too excited for what the moment required and as he followed along behind Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall, she couldn't help but notice the exasperated and annoyed expressions of the other teachers who remained behind to usher the students back to their dormitories.

"I'm going to follow them," Alexa suddenly announced and before Liam or Sue could stop her and before any of the teachers spotted her, she darted off towards Lockhart's office.

"Lexa!" Sue hissed, her footsteps close behind Alexa. "Stop! You'll get in trouble."

"I want to know what's going on," Alexa explained as they skidded to a halt outside Lockhart's office.

The door was slightly ajar and Alexa stood as close as she dared, ears straining to listen while Sue huffed in annoyance.

Liam, Alexa observed, hadn't followed.

"—so unlucky I wasn't there," Lockhart was saying, "I know the very countercurse that would have saved her…"

Alexa could almost see McGonagall rolling her eyes and grinned at the image.

She could hear Filch sobbing quietly while Lockhart went on and on about some misadventure he had had in some country or other. Alexa doubted anyone was actually listening and was certain he was chattering simply to fill the silence.

She tried to see through the crack in the door, but she could only see the wall opposite and Filch's slumped figure in a chair while he wept over his cat.

"She's not dead, Argus," Dumbledore said after a long while. His voice was soft and cajoling and Filch looked up in amazement.

"Not dead?" he gasped, peering through his fingers at something just out of sight. "Then why's she all stiff and—and frozen?"

"She's been Petrified," Dumbledore announced, to which Lockhart interjected, "Ah, thought so!"

There was a brief pause in which Alexa was certain he was leveling a look at Lockhart before he went on.

"But how, I cannot say…"

"Ask him!" Filch suddenly demanded. "It's him who's done it! He's why she's all…why she's P-Petrified."

"No second year could have done this," Dumbledore said quietly but firmly. Alexa imaged Potter sagging in relief at Dumbledore's words. "It would take Dark Magic for this to—"

"He did it, he did it!" Filch exclaimed. "You saw what he wrote on that wall! He found—in my office—he knows I'm a—I'm a—" Filch broke off for a second before he went on. "He knows I'm a Squib."

Alexa and Sue looked at each other and though Alexa didn't know what a Squib was, she was certain it wasn't good.

"I never touched Mrs. Norris," Potter suddenly said. "And I don't even know what a Squib is."

We have that in common, Alexa thought wryly as Filch denounced him.

"If I might, Headmaster," Snape said, speaking for the first time. "Potter and his friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why was he in the upstairs corridor at all? Why wasn't he at the feast?"

Sue tried to get Alexa to leave at that moment, but Alexa brushed her off.

"Go back to the common room, then," Alexa whispered. "I'm staying here. I want to know what's going on. I want to know why Filch's cat was Petrified."

"We can look in the library tomorrow to see what causes it," Sue said, still tugging uselessly on Alexa's arm. "Let's just get out of here before they come out."

"No."

"This cat wasn't hit over the head with a broomstick, Severus," McGonagall was saying and Sue waved her hands in exasperation and turned on her heel, leaving Alexa standing alone outside Lockhart's office. "There is no evidence at all that Potter did this."

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," Dumbledore said.

"My cat has been Petrified!" Filch shouted angrily. "I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore assured Filch. "Professor Sprout has some healthy Mandrakes and, when they are mature, a potion will be made to revive Mrs. Norris."

Sensing that they weren't going to say any more, Alexa started off down the corridor, but she hadn't made it far before Hermione and the other two emerged from the office.

She watched them walk quickly for a moment before they broke into a run and raced up the stairs.

Knowing she needed to get back to the common room, Alexa had taken a few more steps towards the dungeon when her curiosity won over and she went after them.

They hadn't bothered to close the classroom door where they were hiding, so it was easy to listen to them.

"Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign," Alexa heard Weasley say and she crept closer, "even in the Wizarding world.

"But you do believe me, don't you?" Potter asked and she could hear the worry thick in his voice.

"'Course," Weasley replied. "But you've gotta admit, it's weird..."

"I know it's weird," Potter said. "The whole thing's weird. And what about that writing on the wall?"

"You know, it sort of rings a bell," Weasley said. "I think someone told me once about a story about a secret chamber… might've been Bill…"

"And what on earth is a Squib?" Harry wondered.

Ron snickered and Alexa rolled her eyes.

"Well—it's not funny really—but as it's Filch," Weasley said. "A Squib is someone who was born into a Wizarding family but doesn't have any magical abilities. Kind of the opposite of Muggle-born wizards, but Squibs are quite unusual."

Turning away, Alexa made her way quickly and quietly back down to the common room where she was greeted with an annoyed Sue and an exasperated Liam.

"You just couldn't resist, could you?" Sue wondered. "Why did you listen? It isn't like we learned much anyways."

"We know Filch is a Squib," Alexa observed, which cause Liam to burst into laughter.

"Oh, Merlin's beard, that explains so much!" he cried.

"What do you mean?" Sue wondered.

"Well, he hates everyone in this castle," Liam explained. "We're all here to learn magic and he can't even do a simple Summoning Charm."

Alexa raised her eyebrows in query.

"I can't do a simple Summoning Charm," she pointed out.

"Yeah, well, you don't actually learn it 'til later, but that isn't the point," Liam said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "He isn't a wizard and we are. He's surrounded by us learning magic and he won't ever be able to do it."

"So why bother being stuck somewhere where everyone's part of something you're not?" Sue wondered.

Liam shrugged. "Maybe he just wanted to be a part of the world. Normally Squibs are encouraged to live with Muggles, seeing as they can't do magic themselves. It'd be easier to live as a Muggle then trying to fit in with wizards."

"That seems a little harsh," Alexa observed as the three of them moved to a far corner of the room. She didn't miss the way several people's eyes followed them. Her stomach twisted into knots and she feared the worst had happened. "I think I'd much rather live with wizards than Muggles if I knew magic existed."

"But they can't do anything in the Wizarding world," Sue chimed in. "I have an great-aunt who was a Squib. She ended up working in a telephone company during the First World War because she couldn't do magic. She made a decent life for herself, married some Muggle banker, and they had a decent life. It's best to acclimate to Muggle life than trying to force yourself to live in the Wizarding world when you can't do magic."

Alexa shrugged just as Greengrass called out to her.

 _Oh no,_ she thought, dread filling her.

"Here we go," Liam said under his breath.

"I do hope you aren't _too_ worried about this whole thing with Filch's cat," Greengrass said as the common room fell silent.

Several people, Parkinson and Malfoy included, were jeering at her while many others were eyeing Alexa and Greengrass with curiosity.

"Why should I be?" Alexa replied though her throat stuck as her mouth went dry.

"Why, because you're a Mudblood, of course," Greengrass announced and the whole common room went still as ice flooded Alexa's veins.

She swallowed hard then, sounding braver than she felt, said, "So? What about it?"

"So you don't deny it?" Greengrass had a wicked gleam in her eye and a triumph smile on her face.

"Why should I?" Alexa asked.

"Because this House is only for Purebloods," Parkinson interjected. "You don't belong here."

"Well, the Sorting Hat certainly thought I did and no one's questioned it before," Alexa said, some feeling coming back into her limbs as rage began to take hold. "Do you honestly believe that every single person in this house is a Pureblood? Good God, if they were, then everyone in this House would be inbreds like you, Daphne."

There was a collective intake of breath and Daphne turned red.

"After all, everyone knows that all Purebloods are related, aren't they?" Alexa went on, tilting her head to the side, a pleasant smile on her face. "So… what? Your mum married her first cousin or something like that, had you and now you're touting your pure blood and all because of incest?"

Beside her, Liam let out a quiet whistle. She knew she was insulting her friends at the same time, but seeing Daphne's humiliated expression was worth it.

"And anyways, what's it matter what one's blood is?" Alexa went on. "There are Muggles with far more class and dignity than you'll ever have, dearest Pureblood Daphne. I wouldn't be entirely too proud to announce I was a Pureblood because, you know… he's your cousin _and_ your father."

The fury was building up in Greengrass's eyes, but Alexa simply smiled sweetly at her then said, "Now if you'll excuse me? I really must finish this essay before tomorrow. McGonagall will have my head if I don't."

And with that, Alexa turned her back on Greengrass and closed her eyes as low conversation sprang up around the common room.

"You realize you just insulted the entire House?" Sue whispered.

"Sorry," Alexa said meekly. "But she makes me so angry. And I don't mean anything against the rest of the House, I promise."

Liam shrugged off her worries. "Don't worry about it. My mum and dad are third cousins once removed or something like that. Everyone knows all Purebloods are related, like you said. Those who care about lineage tend not to worry about the incest bit."

"But I would worry about it," Sue cut in. "She'll make your life hell now."

Alexa gave a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. "She already has. What's a bit more trouble?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you liked it. Do review if you did. Or even if you didn't. Just review. I like reading them all. Thanks!


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